New Zelda Details Unmasked

Majora's Mask will unfold in real-time and without the ability to save anywhere. Interested?

By IGN Staff

The latest issue of Famitsu Magazine reports a bunch of new details about Nintendo's upcoming Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Our Japanese correspondent lists the most important revelations below.

The back flip and side jumps will return and feature the same controls. This time, there will be a long jump as well, during which you are unable to attack. Attacks with your sword are the same, with slashes, thrusts, jumping slash and the spinning attack all back for more.

Deku nuts Link is a bit shorter than boy Link, so he'll have trouble reaching certain places. He will have the ability to perform a Deku flower jump, which is where he stands on a special flower and then uses the flowers like a hang glider. Also, he will have a bubble projectile attack. Finally, Deku Link can skip over water for a maximum of five jumps.

The game will flow in real time, but the clock stops when you're talking to other characters or using the item menu screen. Also, while the adventure does progress in real time, in actuality, one hour of game time is a bit shorter than one hour of real time.

The time meter is quite simple, with 1st, 2nd and Last being displayed in the middle. This is the day that you are currently on. The sun or moon moves across the half-circle and when it has gone and come back, that is one day. There is a number above the sun/moon to tell you what time it is. Day is from 6am to 6pm.

While Ocarina of Time showed you a map in the bottom right corner of the area you were in, this time, you will have to find the maps of fields, towns, etc. in order for them to be displayed in Majora's Mask.

When you first start the game, there will be no magic gauge on your screen and you won't be able to do any magic. You must do something specific in order to receive magic ability from one of the great fairies.

The ocarina will play an important part in this game too. The controls are the same. When you start the game, you don't know any songs and have to learn them like you did in Ocarina of Time. When wearing the different masks, you'll play the instruments of that people, eg. Deku Link plays some kind of horn/bagpipe.

The scheduler (see the screenshot) is used to keep track of the different people in the land and to help them. You receive the scheduler from a group known as the Bombers after proving your worth to them.

Similar to Ocarina of Time, there will be a number of minigames as well. Mini games will cost money to play, and some familiar ones like the treasure box guessing game and archery ranges will return. Also, there appears to be a Deku Link minigame as well, where you must fly around using your Deku flower collecting rupees within a certain time limit.

Depending on the time of day, different enemies will appear, with the stronger ones coming out at night. There will be a noticeable difference in visibility during the dark, making it difficult to fight the monsters that appear.

In the last game, you could save anywhere you wanted to. This time, you will be limited in when and where you can save. This should help up the fear/nervousness factor, while at the same time heightening the frustration factor. In this game, you can only save in certain situations. If you do a certain thing (it's still a secret), you can turn back time, but only then can you save freely. In addition, there are instances where saving will cause you to lose certain items. This means you'll have to plan your saves wisely.